


Ghosts Of Your Past

by QueerBrat



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Tales From The SMP - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Catboy Corpse, Clay | Dream Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/Catboy Corpse, Cornelius is Dream, Episode: e002 The Village That Went Mad, Gen, Ghosts, Sympathetic Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Tubbo as Robin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:15:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29966958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueerBrat/pseuds/QueerBrat
Summary: Dream has been alive for hundreds of years. He learned the hard way that love is a weakness. Now he’s a cold and dark shell who’s only goal is to keep his idea of unity.Until some ghosts from his past have returned. Will they change him for the good or cause him to spiral.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 81





	1. The Past

**Author's Note:**

> In this au there are a lot more ghosts in L’Manburg. This also takes place like right before Tommy’s banishment.

Dream felt his heart break every time he looked at that land. Where L’Manburg currently stood was once a simple town. It wasn’t big but it was his town. The masked man sighs softly as he just watches from afar. It was hundreds of years ago. Dream was young back then- and didn’t go by Dream. Cornelius. Dream remembered his last day there. In that town. His town. Not A Very Good Town. Dream sighs as he sits down on the grass and thinks. 

~~~

“Cornelius! Come on, we’re going to go chop some wood!” 

Cornelius looks up from his book at the familiar voice as his partner, Catboy, making his way over to him. He was followed by the young town orphan- Robin. The kid was no older then 14 though it was hard to tell and Robin didn’t fully remember. The masked man nods as he stands up. 

“Alright. Let’s get going then. We only have a few hours before it’ll become dark,” Cornelius says as he walks over. Robin was holding an axe which he hands to the Cornelius. The blonde man smiles as he pats Robin’s head and thanks him before the three head off into the forest to begin to chop wood. Well Cornelius helped a Robin as Cat sat close by- it wasn’t a smart idea for the blind man to help with this task. Cornelius and Robin ended up chopping enough wood for a few days. The three gathered the chopped wood as they begin to head back. 

That’s when he showed up. Almost out of nowhere a strange looking man walked out from behind a tree. Currently Dream knew this was Karl, but back then he had no clue why Karl looked so shocked to see him. Must have been a shock for him. 

“Dream?” the man says, confusion in his voice, “What are you doing here?”

“Uhh- sorry. You must have the wrong person,” Cornelius says awkwardly. The strange man continues to stare for a moment before pulling himself together. 

“Oh! Apologies! You just look like someone I know! I’m a Karl! Nice to meet you three!” the man, Karl, says, “Here let me help!” 

“I’m Catboy, this is my partner Cornelius, and that’s Robin- he’s our orphan kid,” Catboy explains as Karl grabs some of the wood from Robin. 

“Hi, nice to meet you sir,” Robin says as he smiles more. Cornelius just nods a bit. So Karl followed them back to town. Everyone there seemed pretty confused. Their mayor, Jimmy, gladly welcomed him though and intruded him to everyone. Cornelius, Catboy, and Robin all brought their wood and distributed it between the houses. 

“I like the new guy! He seems nice!” Robin chirps happily as he sits on Catboy’s bed. Cat just nods a bit sitting next to him. 

“I don’t know…he seems off,” Cornelius points out, “I have a bad feeling.” 

“Didn’t he call you Dream? I kinda like that name,” Cat says thinking as he tilts his head. Cornelius just blushed a bit at that before rolling his eyes. 

“Yah- Yah whatever,” he says and just throws a pillow at Cat. It smacks him in the face causing him to hiss slightly. Robin just giggles a bit as he watches his two father figures. Life was perfect for the three. Or it would be for only a few more hours. Cornelius’ last few hours of peace. 

~~~

He now had to be the bad guy again. Dream didn’t see himself as evil just…he had a job to do. Tommy was just like Wilbur- he would get in the way. His little trying to stand up to him really pissed Dream off. He was furious about it. Tommy tried to use Spirit against him and that was the final straw. Part of him wonders what Cat would say about this. He shakes his head and stands up. No. He wasn’t going to lose anything else. So he goes to grab his items before going to see if there would be war or Tommy would get banished. It’s the only way to obtain unity. 

Meanwhile in L’Manburg Tommy was panicked. He was very confident that Tubbo would banish him- he didn’t know what he should do. 

“Hey Tommy!” A chipper voice says causing the blonde to look up. He smiles a bit seeing a small ghost. L’Manburg has been having a lot of ghosts show up after Wilbur came back. Tommy didn’t know most of them. They were all from a long time ago- though most were nice. Tommy’s favorite was a young child- this young child. 

“Oh hey Robin,” Tommy says as he smiles at him. The ghost floats over and hovers close to him.

“You seem upset? Is something wrong?” Robin asks as he tilts his head. Tommy felt bad as he looks at him. This poor kid definitely had no clue about the tense atmosphere. 

“I made a mistake so…now I’m gonna most likely get banished“ Tommy says as he sighs and looks down at the ground. Robin’s eyes widen at that as he tries to hug the other- though he couldn’t due to being a ghost. 

“Oh no! I’m so sorry!” Robin says as he just hovers near the other. Tommy shrugs and smiles at him. 

“Well- maybe Tubbo won’t kick me out! Dream will start war then-“ Tommy explains as he shrugs. 

“This Dream guy sounds like a bully! I wanna give him a piece of my mind!” Robin says and crosses his arms. Tommy laughs a bit and shrugs. 

“He is- he’s a massive bully!” Tommy says and laughs a bit.   
“A big jackass honestly. He thinks he should control everything. Hate him.” Robin nods as he frowns. He liked Tommy- Tommy was always fun and would play games with him. Robin wished he had someone before he died like this. 

“So- Robin you’ve been here for a bit. I don’t really know much about you though,” Tommy points out. Robin thinks and just nods a bit. 

“Ok! I can tell you a bit! Um- so I grew up in a town called Not A Very Good Town. My mom died when I was younger and soon after my dad died in a war. So I was an orphan. But this nice couple kinda took after me. The ghost I’m always with- Catboy or Corpse. He kinda became like a dad along with his partner named Cornelius. They were really like my family,” Robin explains. Tommy couldn’t help but smile a bit at how happy Robin looked talking at the last part. Though he slowly grows more sad when he begins to talk again.  
“Then one day a stranger showed up. His name was Karl. Once he showed up…Cornelius was murdered…then the town accused Catboy and well they killed him. The killings continued so…they put me to death as well…in the end everyone died besides the killers…it was…horrific.” 

Tommy was horrified at that. This kid…was put to death for something he didn’t do. Now Tommy wished he could hug the other. This poor kid had been threw a lot.   
“I’m so sorry- that must have been horrible.” 

Robin just nods a bit but shrugs smiling again, “Being a ghost isn’t that bad. Anyway from what I’ve seen you’ve been threw some bad stuff also.” The two ended up enjoying the last bit of peaceful time jusy talking. They had more in common then Tommy first thought. It was nice.


	2. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s time for Tubbo to give Dream an answer on Tommy’s banishment

Dream was sitting on the obsidian wall waiting for Tubbo to come state his decision. To banish Tommy or go to war. Dream knew Tubbo would banish his friend- which will tear Tommy apart. He smirks when he begins to hear people walk up. He stands up and just smirks as he holds his sword. 

“Dream, we’ve made our choice. We’re exiling Tommy,” Tubbo says. Dream hears the clear surprised gasps from everyone. This worked out better then he thought it would if all three seemed shocked. Dream turns around and just smirks.

“What! Tubbo!” Tommy yells shocked. Quackity and Fundy both just stare at Tubbo I’m confusion. 

“I’m glad you came to the smart conc-“ Dream begins to say as he turns. Though once he was facing the ground he freezes. His eyes were widen and his jaw was open. The only sound he made was the sound of his sword hitting the obsidian. 

Tubbo, Tommy, Quackity, and Fundy all looked confused as they take a step closer.   
“Dream? You ok?” Fundy asks concerned. Dream seemed to ignore the other as he keeps staring shocked. 

From behind the two a deep voice quietly says.   
“Cornelius?” 

“Cat?” the masked man whispers back, “Cat? You’re…here?” Before anyone else could react Robin zooms threw the four. He jumps and tries to hug Dream before falling threw him.   
“And…Robin! Holy- you’re ghosts…”

“Cornelius! Yah! We’re gonna tell this Dream jerk off! Now that you’re here we can really scare him! How are you alive though? Cat heard you die! You were gone!” Robin asks as he sticks his hand threw the other. At that Dream looks well…a mix of emotions. He was still shocked but it looked like it was mixed with shame. 

“Wait! Dream- you know these two?” Tommy asks. Cat just nods a bit and floats between Dream and the four. 

“Cornelius…or…well Dream I suppose…and I used to live together. But I don’t understand how you’re alive,” Cat asks as he looks at Dream, “You died…I died because of it- they thought I killed you.” 

“Well- it’s a long story…I’m sorry though-“ Dream mumbles out. 

“Wait! Wait! Wait! What the hell is going on!” Quackity yells, “We’re here to talk about Tommy! Not whatever fucked up reunion this is!” 

“Oh…right-“ Dream says and looks down at Robin, the poor ghost kid was starting to understand the situation- he looked very betrayed.   
“Forget it. Tommy can stay if he keeps good behavior.” 

“Really…” Tommy mumbles at that. His eyes were wide as he glances at the others. Dream changed his mind that easily?   
“Yes!” He smiles as he jumps up at the victory. The other three were still semi confused but looked happy enough. Dream just nods as he keeps his focus on the two ghosts. They were all clearly shocked by this. No one fully knew what to say next. 

“So…what’s life been like?” Cat asks after a few minutes of silence. Dream just smiles and laughs a bit. It wasn’t a cold laugh though- it was a genuine, happy, warm laugh. 

“Long…it’s been so long,” Dream says as he nods a bit, “I’m so glad to see you again- I’ve missed you.”

Tubbo thinks and just walks closer to Dream, “Dream, can you please explain what’s going on- I’m very confused.”

Dream just nods a bit and sighs, “Yah. I can. Maybe let’s go somewhere else though. It will be- a long story.” Tubbo nods as the group makes their way down and to the Camarvan. The two ghosts followed, Robin was happy again and Cat was just smiling. 

Once they were all sitting around the table Dream began to explain everything.   
“Hundreds of years ago where L’Manburg currently stands there was a town called Not-A-Very-Good-Town. I lived here with Cat. We were…roommates. Robin was kinda like our not legally adopted son. We were a strange little family you know. Then one day I was killed. Some people in our town went crazy and stabbed me to death. It turned into an entire witch-hunt which resulted in Cat and Robin being executed. Though the strange thing that happened was- when I died I just woke up somewhere else. By the time I made it back everything was gone- everyone I knew and cared about was dead. So…I began to make my own life. A few hundred years later I finally formed the Greater Land.” 

“So…you can’t die?” Tommy asks. Dream shrugs and just sighs. 

“I don’t know Tommy, I don’t even really know. It’s complicated. I’m sorry I can’t give you a real answer on that,” Dream says as he shrugs. 

“Tommy still can stay right? Like you’re serious about that?” Quackity asks. Dream nods a bit- glancing at Robin who smiles more at that.

“I should head back now,” Dream says and stands up, “Any more questions?” The others shake their head no. 

“I wanna stay with Cornelius!” Robin says and floats around, “Please! Just for a bit Cat!” Cat nods a bit at that. Dream smiles as he leaves- the two ghosts happily following him. 

“Wait- Tubbo. We’re you going to sell me out!” Tommy asks remembering what Tubbo said earlier. Tubbo turns around and just kinda sits there with his mouth open- not knowing how to remember. 

“Yah- what the hell,” Quackity asks, “Seriously man-“

“I’m sorry-“ Tubbo finally says. Tommy stands up and storms out. He heads back to his L’Manburg house. Tubbo sighs knowing he messed up even though Tommy was safe. Quackity soon follows looking just as upset. Fundy just pats Tubbo’s shoulder. 

“Don’t worry, everything seems to be fine now,” Fundy says, “Tommy’s still here and we’re not at war.” 

“I know. I just…I don’t feel like everything is over.”


End file.
